This invention relates to closure for flasks and other containers used in connection with incubating and culturing cells.
Cell-culture flasks must provide a sterile environment with adequate provision for exchange of gasses to sustain biological processes. Caps for such flasks must be capable of covering the flask opening without impeding the exchange of gasses (e.g., when the flask is in an incubator with a controlled atmosphere); in addition, it may be useful that the caps seal the falsk entirely, for example to protect its contents when the flask is outside of a controlled environment.
Maintaining sterile conditions within the flask while charging it with cells and a cell growth medium poses several problems. To charge the flask, the cap (usually a screw-on cap) is removed and the flask and cap are held. The flask is maintained in a slightly slanted orientation with respect to the horizontal, while a sterile pipette held in the other hand is used to charge the flask with cells and with culture medium. The cap is then replaced. During this procedure, the operator must hold the cap in a hand that is otherwise occupied (either with the flask or the pipette) and the operator must not touch the inner surfaces of the cap. For any given experiment, a large number of flasks may be required.
It is an object of this invention to provide a culture flask closure that allows quick and convenient charging of the flask while minimizing the chance of contamination and while providing the gas-exchange and flask-sealing advantages described above.